(A) What is the treasury offset program
(TOP)?
The TOP allows the United States department of the treasury to
offset eligible federal payments as a means of collecting past-due
food assistance
supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP)
claims established in accordance with this chapter of
the Administrative Code.
(B) What is an eligible federal payment?
Eligible federal payments include:
(1) Federal income tax refunds;
(2) Federal salary income, including military
pay;
(3) Federal retirement income,
including military retirement income;
(4) Contractor/vendor payments;
(5) Certain federal benefit payments, such as
social security, railroad retirement (other than tier 2), and black lung (part
B) benefits; and
(6) Other federal
payments, including certain loans that are not exempt from offset.
(C) Which claims are referred to
the TOP?
ODJFS
The Ohio department of job and family services (ODJFS)
refers claims that are legally enforceable and past-due.
(1) A claim is legally enforceable when:
(a) The case
record contains verification that the debtor has been
notified of hearing rights concerning the claim;
(b) The
county
agency has
case record contains
documentation showing the claim was properly established in accordance with
this chapter;
(c) The claim balance
is twenty-five dollars or more; and
(d) The claim has not been discharged in
bankruptcy and there is not a bankruptcy stay in effect.
(2)
When is a claim
past due?
A claim is past-due when payment has
not been received for one hundred twenty days and the debtor has not responded
to a notice of default.
A claim is past due when payment has
not been received for one hundred twenty days and the debtor has not responded
to a notice of default.
A claim is not past-due when:
(a) A state hearing on the issue of the
establishment of the claim is pending;
(b) In accordance with paragraph (C) of rule
5101:4-8-19 of the
Administrative Code, the thirty days allowed for the debtor's response to a
food assistance repayment agreement have not expired;
(c) The debtor is making regular payments
according to the terms of their negotiated repayment
schedule;
(d) The claim has
already been paid off; or
(e) There
is another documented reason why the claim is not legally enforceable or
past-due.
(D)
Is the debtor notified prior to the referral to the TOP?
No later than sixty days before the referral to the TOP, at
least one debtor on a claim is notified of the pending referral.
(E) Will a payment made on the
claim cancel the referral to the TOP?
(1) When
a debtor makes an acceptable repayment arrangement the claim shall not be
referred for offset. An acceptable repayment arrangement means:
(a) When the claim balance is five hundred
dollars or less, the balance shall be paid in full within sixty days of the
mailing date of the notice issued in accordance with paragraph (D) of this
rule.
(b) When the claim balance is
more than five hundred dollars:
(i) Payment(s)
totaling five hundred dollars
must
are to be received within sixty days of the mailing
date of the notice issued in accordance with paragraph (D) of this rule;
and
(ii) The debtor
must
is to
agree in writing to repay the balance of the claim.
(2) Any payment
which
that
the county agency receives in response to the notice issued in accordance with
paragraph (D) of this rule shall be credited to the claim proposed to be
referred for offset. The county agency shall enter the repayment information
into the statewide automated eligibility system on the day that the repayment
is received. When the claim balance is more than five hundred dollars, a
payment of less than five hundred dollars will not prevent or cancel the offset
action.
(F) What are the
responsibilities of the county agency?
The county agency shall:
(1) Have a nationwide toll-free telephone
service available to the debtor during the agency's regular business hours. The
county agency's toll-free telephone number and mailing address shall be printed
on all notices issued to debtor.
(2) Verify the debtor's identifying
information before discussing the claim with the individual.
(3) Comply with the federal taxpayer
information safeguarding requirements described in rule
5101:9-9-25 of the
Administrative Code.
(4)
Complete a requested
Forward written requests
review on a claim
to ODJFS,
office of fiscal and monitoring services, bureau of program integrity (BPI) for
a review on a claim that has not yet been referred to the TOP in
accordance with rule
5101:4-8-30.1 of the
Administrative Code.
(5) Submit the
JFS 07430 "Offset Programs Referral Cancellation/Refund Request"
(rev. 2/2012), to
ODJFS
the Ohio department of
job and family services within one business day of the determination
that a referral
should
is to be canceled.
(G) What happens when the amount of the
offset exceeds the amount of the claim?
When the amount of the offset exceeds the amount of the claim,
the debtor shall be refunded the difference between the unpaid amount of the
claim and the amount offset.
Notes
Ohio Admin. Code 5101:4-8-30
Effective:
3/1/2020
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates:
11/21/2019 and
03/01/2025
Promulgated
Under: 111.15
Statutory
Authority: 5101.54
Rule
Amplifies: 5101.54
Prior
Effective Dates: 08/01/1995, 07/01/1996, 09/13/1996, 09/01/1998 (Emer.),
11/01/1998, 01/01/2004, 04/01/2009, 04/15/2010,
08/01/2014
